Ep 374: Expert Edition: The Balanced Runner - Improve your running with Paul Mackinnon
Release Date: 11/18/2025
Ep 374: Expert Edition: The Balanced Runner - Improve your running with Paul Mackinnon
The Physical Performance Show
Running technique coach Paul Mackinnon (The Balanced Runner) unpacks why most runners “force outcomes” (cadence, foot strike, knee drive) instead of changing the inputs that actually reshape movement. Paul explains his top-down approach—starting at the arms and torso to influence what happens below—so athletes can reduce ground contact time, improve rhythm, and shift along the continuum from rehab to performance. Across an engaging conversation in episode 374 of The Physical Performance Show, with hosts Brad Beer and Huw Darnell, Paul challenges the idea that “technique doesn’t...
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Ep 373: Expert Edition: Dr Jay Hertel. Chronic Ankle Instability in Athletes
The Physical Performance Show
In episode 373 of The Physical Performance Show, sports medicine expert Dr Jay Hertel shares an in-depth exploration of chronic ankle instability in athletes. Drawing on his extensive clinical and research experience, Dr Hertel discusses the prevalence, consequences, and complex rehabilitation of ankle sprains. The conversation covers the patho-mechanical, sensory-perceptual, and motor-behavioral impacts of repeated ankle injuries, including early onset osteoarthritis, proprioceptive deficits, and the psychological hurdles faced by patients—such as loss of confidence and fear of re-injury....
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Ep 372: Hayden Wilde Live
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The Physical Performance Show
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Ep 369: Victor Popov: Expert Edition: Lessons from 40 Years in Elite Sport
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In episode 369 of The Physical Performance Show, sports physiotherapist Victor Popov shares insights from his four-decade career working with elite athletes across Olympic Games, Tour de France cycling, AFL premiership teams, and international swimming. He recounts his journey from early days in Sydney’s top sports medicine clinics to supporting champions like Robbie McEwen, Susie O’Neill, and Shane Watson, emphasising the value of multidisciplinary collaboration and continuous learning. This episode delves into the critical role of the nervous system in athletic performance, with Victor...
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Ep 368: Expert Edition: Huw Darnell: Strength and Conditioning Principles
The Physical Performance Show
In episode 368 of The Physical Performance Show, the podcast enters a new era as accredited exercise physiologist Huw Darnell joins as co-host alongside Brad Beer. With over a decade of experience in the endurance sports industry, Huw brings a fresh perspective to the show, sharing his journey from a sport-obsessed youth through injury setbacks to becoming a leading strength and conditioning coach for runners and triathletes. This episode explores Huw’s personal and professional evolution, including the pivotal injuries that shaped his approach to athlete rehabilitation and performance. Huw...
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Ep 367: Dr Sue Mayes (AM) 'Expert Edition: Managing Foot & Ankle Injuries'
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In episode 367 of The Physical Performance Show, sports physiotherapist Sue Mayes shares her expertise in foot and ankle injury management. With over 30 years of experience leading physiotherapy at the Australian Ballet and now a senior lecturer at La Trobe University, Sue provides groundbreaking insights into injury prevention and rehabilitation. Sue discusses her innovative research on ballet dancers and athletes, highlighting the importance of calf strength, strategic exercise implementation, and challenging traditional approaches to stretching. She reveals how implementing targeted calf...
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Ep 366: Featured Performer: Hayden Wilde
The Physical Performance Show
In this episode, Olympic triathlete Hayden Wilde shares a powerful 2025 update. Just days after running a blistering 27:38 10K in Tokyo — one of the fastest ever by a triathlete — Hayden was involved in a high-speed cycling crash that left him with a fractured scapula, five broken ribs, and a punctured lung. Hayden shares the emotional and physical rollercoaster of his injury, including emergency support from his sponsors, a medical evacuation, and career-saving surgery in Belgium. Now deep in rehab, he opens up about the mindset, team effort, and small wins guiding his return to racing....
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Ep 365: Professor Peter Malliaras ‘Tendinopathy Rehabilitation’
The Physical Performance Show
In this episode we welcome back renowned tendinopathy expert, Professor Peter Malliaras, for a 2025 Tendinopathy Rehabilitation Update. As a leading physiotherapist, researcher, and director at Monash University’s Musculoskeletal Research Unit, Peter shares the latest advancements in managing and rehabilitating tendon injuries. Peter continues to provide cutting-edge insights into evidence-based treatments for persistent tendon symptoms. Whether you're an athlete dealing with tendinopathy or a practitioner looking to refine your approach, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways...
info_outlineRunning technique coach Paul Mackinnon (The Balanced Runner) unpacks why most runners “force outcomes” (cadence, foot strike, knee drive) instead of changing the inputs that actually reshape movement. Paul explains his top-down approach—starting at the arms and torso to influence what happens below—so athletes can reduce ground contact time, improve rhythm, and shift along the continuum from rehab to performance.
Across an engaging conversation in episode 374 of The Physical Performance Show, with hosts Brad Beer and Huw Darnell, Paul challenges the idea that “technique doesn’t matter,” arguing that how you move determines how you load. He distinguishes economy from efficiency, shows why arm swing and thoracic control set the timing for the legs, and shares practical cues to build self-awareness, symmetry, and lift—without derailing training volume. Clinicians and athletes alike will gain a clearer roadmap for translating S&C work to the road, coaching more effectively, and making durable technique change.
To Follow Paul Mackinnon (The Balanced Runner):
Website: TBrunner.com
Instagram: @thebalancedrunner
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TIMELINE:
00:00 Forcing outcomes: the #1 running mistake
03:19 Inputs over outcomes; changing the whole system without losing training
04:32 Knee drive, ground time, and why top-down coaching works
07:28 Midline crossover: finding the true driver of the pattern
09:35 Physics → biomechanics → the individual: three coaching silos
11:11 Do mechanics matter? Why the debate misses the point
14:11 Lessons from swimming: skill, workload, and injury risk
16:27 Breaking-2 insight: efficiency beating raw physiology
18:09 Economy vs efficiency; cost per step explained
21:07 Two paths to change: full-pattern reset vs detailed top-down
23:05 New-way/old-way contrasts to build self-awareness
26:06 Feel, timing, rhythm: enlarging the athlete’s “sweet spot”
32:29 What good running looks like: rhythm, symmetry, flight
36:37 Coaching language, listening, and athlete buy-in
43:22 Mental health: running as a lifeline
44:43 Humerus–femur coupling: why arms and thighs must sync
49:17 Simple buy-in: reduce ground time & ground reaction force
50:18 Paul’s top three: Awareness • Symmetry • Lift
52:50 Why S&C often doesn’t transfer—and how to fix it
59:35 One piece of advice: self-awareness—know where you are now
1:00:27 Listener Challenge: film your running, build your baseline
LISTEN IN AS WE DELVE INTO THE FOLLOWING:
- The #1 mistake runners make: forcing outcomes vs changing inputs
- Why technique, capacity, and rehab are independent—but interlinked—puzzle pieces
- The injury ↔ performance continuum and coaching before athletes break
- Top-down mechanics: how arms/torso shape leg action and knee drive
- Midline “tight-rope” running: finding the driver (ribcage, arms, rotation)
- Physics → biomechanics → individual: the three silos that govern change
- “You can’t outrun physics”: mechanics as applied physics, not opinion
- Efficiency vs economy: cost per step, flight time, ground contact time
- Why research lags coaching—and what to change (and not change) first
- Translating S&C and plyos to running: when good gym work fails to show up
- Coaching language, storytelling, and athlete-led awareness (new vs old way)
- Rhythm vs being rhythmic: symmetry, timing, and longer flight
- Mental health, identity, and why running is a lifeline for many athletes
- Three practical cues: Awareness • Symmetry • Get off the ground
- The week’s challenge: Film your running and build an honest baseline
QUOTES:
“You can’t outrun physics.”
“How you move determines how you load.”
“Stop forcing outcomes—change the inputs.”
“Awareness, symmetry, get off the ground. Every step costs—know what you’re paying for.”
PEOPLE MENTIONED:
Ellie Salthouse – Triathlete
Enda King – Hip & groin specialist (Aspetar)
Rich Willy – Running biomechanics researcher
Alec McKenzie, Stephen Doohig – Swimming biomechanics researchers
Jenny Alcorn – Triathlon coach (historical reference)
THE TEAM:
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Your Hosts:
🏃 Brad Beer - Instagram & X @Bradbeer and YouTube on @PogophysioAu
💪 Huw Darnell - Exercise Physiologist & Performance Coach : YouTube: @huwdarnell & Instagram @huwdarnell
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